Adult Formation

Adult Formation During Lent: Lectio Divina

February 18, March 4 & 18

Central to our life of faith is our prayer practice. It is absolutely essential for us to pray regularly, because this is how we talk to and listen for God. Each of us will have a unique way of praying that fits with who we are, but to find it we have to try out different kinds of prayer – give them a chance, see if they work.

The prayer form called Lectio Divina is a good kind of prayer to try, because every personality type will find something in it that works for them. For the thinking person it offers pondering. For the feeling person it offers the opportunity to engage the heart. For the person who finds deep meaning in the phenomena of the world it offers a savoring of what is. And for the intuitive, it offers the opportunity to engage the imagination. It also gently stretches us in conversation with God.

Lent is a season in which intentionally to deepen our relationship with God “by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God's holy Word.” (Ash Wednesday service, BCP pg. 265). The Lectio for Lent program is a simple way to do many of these things.

Here's how it will go. On Sunday, February 18, after the 9:00 am service, we will discuss the basics of praying: how to set aside time and a place to pray, what issues might get in the way of prayer and how to deal with them. We will learn about Lectio Divina and practice a Lectio together. Then we will assign passages from Scripture to use in Lectio for the following two weeks. Already you can see how this prayer practice is also a way to read and meditate on God's holy Word.

Connecting face to face is the best way to share this kind of information – but if, for some reason, you can't make this meeting you can get the basic material we discuss from our blog. You can ask questions and share ideas and insights here. And as we go along we will post links for further information and other resources here as well.

On the other Sundays (March 4 and 18) we will meet to share how the process is going and to receive new Scriptural passages. On the final Sunday we meet we will have a last set of Scriptural passages. By Easter you will have a sense of whether this form of prayer works for you.